Dead Dewalt Ni-Cad battery -- Can LiIon work?

Reviving a Dead Dewalt Ni-Cad Battery with Li-Ion: Can It Work?

Hi all,

I have a dead 14.4V Dewalt DW9091 pack, which uses a series of sub-C size NiCad batteries. Purchasing a new 14.4V Dewalt battery isn't worth it, especially since they can cost around £90 and Dewalt no longer manufactures 14.4V tools.

Hence, I'm considering rebuilding the battery pack using either NiMH cells or even Li-Ion cells.

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Rebuilding it with Li-Ion cells might be a good idea. For example, 4x18650 cells could fit inside the pack and provide more capacity than the original. Although, using Li-Ion could over-volt the tool, which is over a decade old—perhaps it could benefit from a little "hot rodding."

My charger is relatively new and is designed to handle both NiCd and NiMH batteries, supporting Dewalt packs between 7.2V and 18V. However, there's uncertainty about whether it could manage a Li-Ion series without causing issues. It might blow up, or it might work fine.

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Any suggestions or ideas? I'm open to exploring unconventional solutions. If I can't revive this drill and battery pack, they’ll simply be recycled.

How to Rebuild a Dewalt 14.4V Battery Pack

Here’s a step-by-step guide to rebuilding your Dewalt 14.4V battery pack:

• Arrange your new batteries on one of your template drawings.
• Solder your homemade battery tabs onto the batteries following your bottom-view diagram, being careful not to overheat the batteries.
• Since you have tinned both the battery and the tab, soldering should proceed quickly.
• Once you have attached the tabs according to your bottom-view drawing, flip the batteries over.
• Set them on the gummy insulator you saved, and place the whole bundle into the battery holder.
• Follow your top-view drawing to solder the remainder of your tabs.
• The first battery in the string has a special connector that is spot-welded in place.
• Use an old wood chisel to pry it away from the old battery—it should pop off easily.
• Tin that connector with flux and solder, and then solder it onto your last new battery.
• The bottom of this battery may need a longer tab to reach the next battery in the series.
• The wire from this special connector goes to the last battery in your series of batteries.
• If you saved the gummy insulator, place it on top of the batteries. Otherwise, cut a new template from non-conducting material and put it in place.
• Reassemble the two halves of the battery housing and screw them together.
• With full confidence, place your new battery pack into the charger— a steady red light means everything is good, and the battery is charging.
• Wait five minutes, then test your drill. If everything is looking good, proceed with a full charge— just to be safe, keep an eye out for smoke.

For additional insights, you can explore more about the dewalt 14.4 volt battery pack.